Jesus Satisfies, Inc.

I spoke a lot last time about how my experiences thus far were humbling, and while most of them continue to be, I am also experiencing a lot of other emotions/feelings/etc. The most current one is just.... hopelessness. Let me backtrack a little so everybody can fully understand what I mean.

The last two days of my placement have been a GREAT improvement from the first computer lesson. Pro-Link, the organization, is currently working on a project that focuses on health education in the schools. They are focusing on waterborne illnesses, and illnesses/diseases transmitted via flies and human/animal waste. There are 28 communities that have agreed to be a part of the program, so the goal is to go to all of these places, teach about the diseases/causes/treatments/preventatives, and then hopefully invoke change.

So, yesterday I went with two reps to a school about ten minutes outside of Hohoe in a place called Santrokofe Bume. The headmaster took a few kids from every class, and put them all in one room for the discussion. At each school, two teachers were educated on all the info and are in charge of disseminating it. So the pro-link people aren't actually teaching the kids. The teacher led an entire talk on the importance of washing our hands before we eat and after we go to the bathroom. About not going to the bathroom in rivers, and not shitting by where food is prepared. (All the children say shit here instead of "go to the bathroom" They go, "teacher! I need to shit!)

The kids were pretty receptive, but still shy. At the end of the speech they asked if I had anything to add. In Hohoe, there are wild goats EVERYWHERE as well as dogs and chickens. So I said, "Who here likes goats!?" and nobody raised their hands so I tried the same question with dogs and chickens... still nothing. So finally I just talked about how it is also important to not pet wild animals, or if you do, to make sure you wash your hands after with soap and water. Then I asked the kids, "ok, so when should we wash our hands???" and one girl said, "after the toilet!" I was looking for the animal answer, but hey, at least I got a response that time.

So this great lesson is taught, the kids seem to be learning, etc etc... and then I see it. The water bucket. There is just a small bucket in the back of the classroom with water in it, and a plastic cup next to it. If you are thirsty, you go and dip the cup into the bucket, drink it, and then put the cup down on the ground. There are at LEAST 30 kids per class, and they all use the same cup. How can we be teaching about water safety, and health issues related to drinking bad water, when they are so poor they cannot even afford individual cups for everyone, let alone a water fountain? It broke my heart.

I literally could not sleep last night. I laid in bed thinking my hardest about SOME way to make this more sanitary, and came up with nothing. There is the idea of having a bucket with a water spicket, but then there is the problem of where to get one, and who is going to pay for it. And, if there is only one bucket for drinking, where the heck are they supposed to wash their hands??

Now, this is the part where I really speak my mind, and I am very truly sorry if I offend anybody, because that is not my intention. But what I am going to say is something that I feel very strongly about, and this is my blog, so there :)

Before I came to Africa, a LOT of people asked if I was going on a mission with a church group. Some others tried to suggest religious affiliations to go with. Another told me that he went on a trip to educate children in Africa, but ONLY if the schools would let him teach religion also. Let me just tell you, Africa does not NEED religion. Everybody here is devoutly religious. All of the stores are called things like, "God is good grocery" and "Jesus saves, electronics" The people are named things like Precious, Emmanual, Grace, Peace, etc. The nicest buildings here are churches. The people of rural Africa need no assistance in their faith, they. need. water.

There is no sewage system, having a toilet is a luxury, and 99.9 percent of them dont even flush. The children are drinking water from rivers and stagnant lakes to avoid going thirsty, these are the same rivers and lakes that people are using to go to the bathroom in because they have no toilets and cannot afford toilet paper. This is poverty like you have never seen before. Worse than you can imagine.

I asked for a toilet in town the other day, and a woman walked me all the way down the street to the only bathroom on that entire stretch of street. I walked inside, and one woman was sitting on the floor next to the bathroom door, stirring a pot of some kind of food. Her child, barely walking age, was sitting on the filthy dirty floor. Still, they graciously welcomed me to the toilet. When I got inside, there was no light, no lock, and just a hole in the ground with a cover over it. Cockroaches were crawling all over the floor and you could see all the defecation from anybody who ever used that spot. I was horrified, literally sick to my stomach, but still I used it, and considered myself lucky that I found that.

All things considered though, the people here are amazing. Everybody says hello to you, welcomes you to the country, to their town, to their home. It is amazing, and eye opening. It is hard to really define poverty here, because though these people have next to nothing, they are the happiest people I have EVER met. In the wise words of one of our staff members, "money will not take you to the hospital when you fall ill, family will." And that is how these people live. I love it. I just hope that before I leave, I can find SOME way of improving at least one condition in the schools. That is my goal.

Tomorrow we are going to Cape Coast for some tourist stuff, I am very excited to finally see all the castles and stuff that are rich in history. It should be fabulous. I am not sure what my internet connection situation will be like, but I will do my best to update. Cheers!